The Rivals
The Rivals is a CG animated trailer for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, announcing King K. Rool's inclusion in the game as playable characters. It aired at the end of the August 8, 2018 Nintendo Direct. The trailer begins with the Smash cross logo forming out of a black background, similar to the character trailers for the previous installment. It then cuts to a montage of various stills showing various rivals fighting each other, first showing Mario fighting Bowser while the latter is holding Princess Peach in a fiery background; Ganondorf lunging at Link and Princess Zelda, with the former placing his outstretched sword arm in defense of the latter while in the midst of an ornate room; Kirby and Meta Knight dueling in the clouds; Wolf O'Donnell with claws outstretched about to fight Fox McCloud and Falco Lombardi (the former with his blaster armed) in the midst of a space battle, and Samus Aran charging her Arm Cannon at a roaring Ridley in a mechanical room before the images "shut off" in a similar manner to a TV screen. It then cuts to a closeup of Donkey Kong yawning before he throws his eaten banana peel while lazily lounging on the floor of his treehouse, while Diddy Kong is merely lying on the tire swing. A quake then occurs and startles both Kongs, causing them to look around. After another quake, they then proceed to look outside to investigate just as a shadow looms over the treehouse. Upon noticing the shadow, they see a silhouette of an ominous and faintly familiar individual. However, it then with a roar reveals itself to be King Dedede wearing a cape and a mask resembling King K. Rool and then pointing to himself. Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong then express some shock. King Dedede then moves around erratically while laughing so hard he's breaking into tears over his prank on them. However, as he's busy laughing over the prank, he fails to notice the actual King K. Rool emerge behind him and proceed to slap him upside the head and away. King K. Rool then prepares to threateningly roar and raise his arms in an intimidating manner as the tagline "King K. Rool Comes Aboard" is shown. Donkey and Diddy then scream while their eyes bulge out in horror far enough to shatter the window. King K. Rool then takes a step forward and breathes steam out of his snout before letting out a skyward roar as an arrange for Gangplank Galleon plays in the background. Gameplay footage then commences, showcasing King K. Rool slamming his foot down Sumo-style (possibly a taunt), as well as various special and regular attacks. He is then shown knocking away Diddy and using his Final Smash on him: charging up his Blast-O-Matic, he then blasts DK Isles away. It then shows Donkey Kong being knocked away, before running at his rival on all fours, with King K. Rool doing vice versa, before jumping into the air and having their fists connect (as well as Diddy Kong's foot connect with K. Rool's fist) with enough force to cause a massive shockwave to ripple through the Jungle. After this, the logo for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate appears. The trailer then ends with Donkey and Diddy Kong celebrating as K. Rool seemingly is knocked down, only for him to rise back up and smash them to the ground, with K. Rool proceeding to literally have the last laugh at his nemeses. The trailer can be viewed here. Trivia *This isn't the first time King Dedede has shown a prankster depiction in Kirby media, as he had earlier played a prank on the titular protagonist by feeding him bombs in the anime Kirby, Right Back at Ya! **Similarly, the entire premise of the trailer (someone pranking another into thinking King K. Rool was coming, only to unwittingly bring in the actual King K. Rool) resembled the premise of the Donkey Kong Country animated series episode "Just Kidding" (only in that case, it was Donkey, Diddy, and Candy Kong who was doing the prank, and the intended victim of the prank was Cranky Kong). *The ending of the trailer was most likely a reference to King K. Rool's feint attack in Donkey Kong Country. *The 8-bit version of Donkey Kong makes a cameo as a portrait inside Donkey Kong's treehouse. *The manner in which Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong react in horror to the arrival of the real King K. Rool resembled the reaction Diddy and Dixie Kong have to encountering the bosses in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest. *King K. Rool backsiding King Dedede, as well as the ending of the trailer, were included in a trailer released for Ultimate on October 24, 2018.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkTzHcHTcME *The trailer Best Friends had a similar beginning to The Rivals, owing to it announcing another expected character(s). Notes and references Category:Super Smash Bros. series